EDITORIAL: DC Vs. Marvel... Why Not Both?

I know there have been editorials about this very subject in the past, but the truth is, I've been wanting to do my own article about the unnecessary DC vs. Marvel competition(more like war) among fans for quite some time. And I feel it's the perfect time to do it.

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By mgeoff88 - 9/12/2013

Superman is my favorite superhero, but I grew up loving both DC and Marvel. I even have a picture of myself as a little kid playing in my room where there's a X-Men poster on my wall and a pillow on my bed with a Batman pillow case. I could understand if someone prefers one company to the other, I can, but actively trolling and expressing your hate for DC or Marvel is completely unnecessary. We get it, you hate the company or a movie, so let it go and move on.

The thing is, those people are wasting their time. They can troll all they want yet that's not going to have any effect on the movies at all. People in Hollywood do visit this site and others to read fans thoughts on things. That is a fact. A person trolling(posting up movie ratings and box office information) on here won't sway movie studios into deciding to cancel a movie sequel. Those decisions are made at important meetings and involves a team of people. A person's trolling has no effect on anything. Like I said, they're wasting their time.

Realistically, in business much like sports, there is competition. Both DC and Marvel want to be the best in their line of work. And I'm solely bringing up their movies, because the biggest source of competition between them is their movies. But just because they're competing with each other, doesn't mean they can't be respectful to one another. I wish that is something more people on here would realize. Joss Whedon has shown respect towards DC/Warner Bros. And Jonathan Nolan praised Joss Whedon and The Avengers. There is respect between two people working at rival companies.

What it comes down to is, both companies releasing great movies is a good thing for all of us. We all win here. It's great for the genre. And if Marvel Studios hadn't released The Avengers, Warner Bros. wouldn't finally be moving forward with a Justice League movie. Even the most hardcore DC fans have to admit that. The whole DC vs. Marvel war is ridiculous. Nobody wins. It's a huge waste of time. If you're a comic book fan, and you come on here spending most of your time trolling, you need to reevaluate your priorities and learn what being a true fan is all about.

Just sit back and enjoy the upcoming years of amazing comic book movies headed our way. That's what's important. Because for us comic book fans, it doesn't get any better than that.

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I would love to see a Justice League and Avengers crossover team up film. It would involve dimensional or multiverse travel, and the teams wouldn't get along at first. They would fight at first but it would end up being a draw, in order to not piss fanboys of each company off. In the end, the teams would end up teaming up to face off against their best foes, Darkseid, Thanos, Ares, Loki, Sinestro, Red Skull, Black Manta, Ultron, Zoom, the real Mandarin, kryptonite power suit Lex Luther, Abomination, Malefic, and Deathstroke. DC and Marvel should do this, as a thank you to the fans for supporting comic book movies.

Also, can you imagine how much money that film would make? It would dethrone Titanic for the highest grossing film of all time, DC and Marvel would take the bank. Its a crime in my eyes that the highest grossing film of all time is a love boat story. DC and Marvel should work together to change that, if not for the fans, then for humanity.

I wasn't suggesting an Avengers and Justice League crossover film with my pictures. Those were for the whole unity theme I was going for. That's all. I'm not saying I would be against it, obviously, but an Avengers/Justice League movie will never happen.

I was trying to say people should like both DC and Marvel, because they each have a library of great characters. And people shouldn't automatically hate a movie regardless of the company it comes from. They should only judge a movie based on its quality instead.

There is one flaw with this concept. Warner's DC movies have not been anywhere near as good as Marvel Studio's. Period. My very first comic, was JLA #43 back in 1966 and I must have read that thing dozens of times. (I was 6 years old). I don't remember all the details but I DO remember that comic. Soon the cover had fallen off but I still kept on reading it. I was a JLA fan for life after that. Once I then discovered the JSA I was an even bigger fan, and read most of the DC stuff.

One of my other "earliest" remembrance's of a comic was Avengers annual #1 (1967). Cap, Iron Man, Thor, Hercules, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, The Mandarin, Enchantress, Executioner, Living Laser, Swordsman, Power Man, Dragon Man, Ultimo.....on and on in one issue. Again I was hooked! I read that thing, well I can't even remember how many times I read it, but I KNOW it was a lot! So I also became a big Marvel fan and read most of that stuff too.When the IM film turned out to be great (including that Avengers teaser at the end), I was pretty excited and by the time I saw the Avengers I was almost in awe of it all. That set my mind off to glory.....(and no matter what, or how much I loved the Avengers film the JLA would be my ultimate). What if we could get a JLA film as good as The Avengers was? Not the same mind you, but AS GOOD. Plenty of faithfulness to the source material yet still having that all important grounding in the cinematic world? That would be heaven.Trouble was I did (and now even more) have serious doubts we will ever get that. The Nolan trilogy (while well made movies) are not great Batman movies at all, and MOS.....well I am still waiting for Superman to show up in that movie. Which he did for about 10 seconds during that flying scene. Nolan's and Snyder's films all are SO devoid of any heart at all and (yes including Keaton/Burton and companies earlier films) I am still awaiting a great Batman movie. The thrill of sitting in the theater and watching Supes 1 and 2 back in the day have long faded too. To say the WB's films are actually anything great at all is something I just can't ever see myself speaking Because they ain't. So.......Marvel studios does "get it" and to me WB's is lost. That's a fact.

I had long believed in the "why not both" mentality having been a comic reader and collector since the late 60's. Now since both companies have completely obliterated any trace of those long standing versions of their characters I subscribe to the "Why not Neither" belief. My Superman and my Captain America no longer exist, thus I went from buying both companies books, to buying just Marvel when the New52 came out, to now buying ZERO titles for the first time in my life thanks to MarvelNow. I was spending between 30 and 50 bucks each week on books as were many other readers over 40. That demographic has been kicked to the curb so we all spend our money elsewhere now.

That's ok. I have an entire library of Marvel and DC titles spanning the entire Silver Age to the Modern Age to reread. Should take me another 50 years or so.

I honestly believe that trolling does sway public opinion and I do believe that there some trolls that are getting paid to post as some websites. I want to believe that the studios are aware of this and have stepped up their game to counter some of the trolling. Case in point, the Batfleck announcement brought on a lot of negativity to the point where some thought it would be profound to petition the White house to remove Ben Affleck from the role. You underestimate the power of social media, mgeoff88. It has brought down government, made the world a smaller place, and made people lots of money. For that reason (the latter one) that some folks strive on trolling just to stir up controversy and interest in their website/article/Twitter page/et. al. at the expense of a film project, political campaign, or even a cause. That is why studios like Disney/Marvel and the WB/DCE need to counter that in order to protect their interests.

Wow... to be honest, I wasn't expecting this to make main. Thanks for all the support and for thumbing up my article!

@Kingdork Lately, we're seeing more of those articles, because of that contest. People are writing controversial articles to get alot of views, so they can win the $500.

That's why I felt it was the perfect time for me to write this, you know, to calm things down a bit around here. And no problem!

@JoJo Thanks! No one should be forced to like or dislike something. That's not right. Let people enjoy what they love.

@0megaDaGod Thanks, man! I really appreciate it.

@BlackJack Thank you, sir! I wish more people were like you. People have different opinions on both DC and Marvel's media: whether it's their comics, TV shows, movies, or video games.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. More people need to think about how that express their opinions though. Unfortunately, as we know, it just takes one guy to derail an entire article turn it into a flame war.

Both DC and Marvel do have amazing characters. That's why I love both DC and Marvel. The people that choose to limit themselves to one company are missing out. And thank you again for the kind words.

@dnno Social media is powerful. I've seen online petitions get innocent people out of jail, cause companies to remove harmful chemicals from their products, all matter of things.

Concerning comic book media, Ben Affleck hasn't been fired from World's Finest. He is still playing Batman despite all the backlash he has gotten. A petition was made to the White House(that's still hard for me to believe... smdh), and yet, he is still playing Batman. Warner Bros. hasn't replaced him with another actor.

Shailene Woodley being cut from TASM2 had nothing to do with the backlash she got as MJ. It had do with the fact Marc Webb coming to the realization that it was too soon to introduce Mary Jane in the TASM series. Doing that would take away from Peter and Gwen's relationship. That's why MJ is being saved for TASM3.

@YaboiWhat about Aquaman and Wonder Woman? I mean, Aquaman is the king of Atlantis and Wonder Woman is the Queen of the Amazons. They are both royalty, and leaders of their people. They are perfect for each other.

@comic Oh, well, that was nice of you to ask your friend to do that. That is a great way to honor your father.

@MarkOfTheDemon Wonder Woman and Aquaman are both are leaders of their people, but I'm not feeling them being together. And it would make more sense for Aquaman to have his Queen be Atlantean than an Amazon.

I like Batman and Wonder Woman together. They are both brawlers and are opposites that complement each other well.

@mgeoff88, Ben Affleck has not been fired because he is under contract and I am pretty sure that it would be costly if the studio were to terminate it. It is not so much that social media would get a person fired, but more that it could sway the outcome of a film financially. The negative buzz that can come from trolling can and does create a stigma in people's minds and this can dissuade them from going to see a picture. That is my point and this is why there has been a media cycle of actors endorsing Affleck. It is basically to counter the negative buzz about his selection (in other words damage control).

@dnno That is a good point. It would be costly for the studio to terminate an actor's contract. Oh ok, I understand more where you're coming from.

Film critics and fans responses to seeing a screening of a movie does have an impact on a film's financial success. A couple of people spamming articles with MOS's RT ratings will not hurt the sequel though. When Ben Affleck was casted as Batman, I've seen quite a few users say they have given up on DC. People had the same reaction to Heath Ledger being cast as The Joker, and look at how well The Dark Knight performed at the box office.

When the trailer drops for MOS2/World's Finest, and they see how badass Ben Affleck is as Batman, those very same people will change their tune and get in line to see the movie with everyone else. Words are words. When people see something for themselves, they're able to decide if it's good or bad all on their own. People that troll underestimate the very people they are trolling.

@mgeoff88, its good that you see my point. Keep in mind that, although there was initially mixed reaction to Heath Ledger's choice as the Joker, that was eventually countered by the overall positive reviews of the film "The Dark Knight" before it's opening weekend.

I am going to expect a mixed reaction to the first teaser for Superman/Batman and a lot of people who went out on a limb to criticism the decision to go with the film will maintain their positions just for the attention. Sure, words are words, but it matters where they come from. You build up a following of people who have confidence in you and they will listen and follow your every beckoning call. You say a film is bad and your followers will believe that as well. This is the danger of social media and it would behoove an investor to do something to counter that.